MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday more than 60,000 people in the country each year die as a result of drug abuse.

Speaking at a government meeting to discuss creation of a national drug treatment system, Medvedev said: “Figures are different, but according to a government commission’s working group, it has become obvious after forensic medical examinations that more than 60,000 people die each year from pathological changes in vital organs as a result of systematic drug abuse.”

“This is certainly a terrible figure,” Medvedev said, noting the need to create opportunities for drug treatment and rehabilitation to help people, both young and old, recover from drug addiction.